rock climbing

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The Sport Is New to the Games—and Destroys Your Hands

Speed climbing can tear athletes' hands to shreds

(Newser) - American Sam Watson managed to set a new record on Tuesday when he scaled a 15-meter climbing wall in Paris in just 4.75 seconds. Whether he ends up with gold won't be known until Thursday, when the men's speed-climbing quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will take place. It'...

Well-Known Rock Climber 'Lured' Victims to Yosemite: Prosecutors

Charles Barrett sentenced in sexual assault case

(Newser) - A professional rock climber accused of luring victims to California's Yosemite National Park and sexually assaulting them has been sentenced to life in prison. Charles Barrett, 40, was convicted of assaulting just one woman, but other women testified at his trial about similar allegations. On Tuesday, he was sentenced...

Man Climbs Las Vegas Orb to Make Point on Abortion

Maison Des Champs, 24, scaled the 366-foot-tall Sphere, was soon arrested

(Newser) - A man who bills himself as "The Official Pro-Life Spider-Man" scaled the massive Sphere venue in Las Vegas on Wednesday to raise funds for a pregnant woman, according to video posted on his Instagram. He was subsequently arrested. Las Vegas police said they began receiving calls about a person...

Cops: Man Planned Shooting at Rock-Climbing Event

Samson Garner, 39, of Oregon 'was armed for it,' per the Deschutes County DA

(Newser) - The Smith Rock Craggin' Classic, an annual three-day rock-climbing fest, took place without a hitch over the weekend in Oregon's Smith Rock State Park. It could've ended up as a crime scene, however, according to authorities, who say they uncovered a mass shooting plot believed to have targeted...

Teen Falls 90 Feet to Her Death While Rock Climbing

University of Georgia's Yutong Zhang fell during a climb near Alabama's Cherokee Rock Village

(Newser) - A University of Georgia student's outdoor adventure in a neighboring state ended in tragedy when she fell during a rock climb last weekend. The Cherokee County Coroner's Office confirmed that Yutong "Faye" Zhang, originally of Minnesota, died last Saturday around noon after she fell 90 feet while...

His Neck Hurt After a Climb. That Was the End of It

Mason Earle had to give up the sport due to chronic fatigue syndrome

(Newser) - "His life became an uphill struggle just to feel human again"—and Mason Earle was a particularly powerful human. As of early 2018, the then-29-year-old was considered one of the best crack climbers there was. (Crack climbing is a lot what it sounds like, rock climbing in which...

Boy Shows Why 'Adventure' Really Is His Middle Name
Story of Boy, 8, 'Climbing'
El Capitan Raises Eyebrows
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Nov 5, 2022 5:25 PM CDT

Story of Boy, 8, 'Climbing' El Capitan Raises Eyebrows

Experts say Sam Baker didn't technically 'climb' California rock formation

(Newser) - Update: Some veteran rock climbers are speaking out after Sam Adventure Baker's ascent of El Capitan made headlines last week, the Daily Beast reports. Experts tell the San Francisco Chronicle that the 8-year-old and his father used a technique known as "jugging," in which they used ascenders—...

Former Cowboys Player Dies in Climbing Accident

Gavin Escobar was one of 2 people killed in California accident, firefighters say

(Newser) - Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar was one of two people killed in a rock climbing accident in California Wednesday, authorities say. The bodies of Escobar, 31, and fellow Huntington Beach resident Chelsea Walsh, 33, were found in a remote area of the San Bernardino National Forest near Idyllwild,...

Climber Breaks Nearly Every Major Bone in Fall, Survives

New Zealand's Anna Parsons is recuperating after terrifying 80-foot plunge on Half Dome

(Newser) - Anna Parsons and her climbing partner, Jack Evans, had exciting plans before they headed from their native New Zealand to foreign exchange programs in Canada: The pair, who'd met as marine science students at the University of Otago, were going to fly to the US, then scale some rocks...

His Climb of El Capitan Is Legendary. Now His Mom's Is Too

Alex Honnold's mother, Dierdre Wolownick, is the oldest woman to ascend Yosemite peak

(Newser) - "Alex didn't think I could do it." That was Dierdre Wolownick yesterday, in a blog post describing her latest feat—climbing El Capitan at the age of 70. As for Alex, who is he, and why does Wolownick care what he thinks? He's professional rock-climber Alex...

She Was Badly Hurt in Her Last Shot at El Capitan. Now, Success

Emily Harrington becomes first woman to free-climb Yosemite rock formation in less than 24 hours

(Newser) - Last November, Emily Harrington got banged up pretty badly after she fell from El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, in an attempt to become the first woman to free-climb the rock formation in less than 24 hours following the tough "Golden Gate" route. Better news this time around: The...

Rock Climbing 'Prodigy,' 16, Killed in Cliff Fall

Luce Douady apparently slipped, fell from French cliff

(Newser) - Luce Douady was seen as a "climbing prodigy" and one of the "brightest young talents" in rock climbing, per AFP . But the French 16-year-old Olympic hopeful is dead after falling from a cliff in southeastern France on Sunday, the BBC reports. She reportedly slipped and fell from the...

Free Solo Star Helps Save El Capitan Climber
She Was Climbing
El Capitan When She Fell
in case you missed it
Nov 30, 2019 3:37 PM CST

She Was Climbing El Capitan When She Fell

Emily Harrington is 'banged up but gonna be OK'

(Newser) - A top rock climber is thankful to be alive after falling from El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. "I took a bad fall and pin balled a bit then somehow hit the rope [with] my neck," Emily Harrington wrote Monday on Instagram, sharing a photo of her resting...

One of America's Most Renowned Climbers Dies in Fall

Brad Gobright came off rope at El Potrero Chico

(Newser) - One of America's most accomplished rock climbers fell to his death on a mountain in Mexico Wednesday. Brad Gobright, a 31-year-old Californian, was abseiling down a cliff face on El Potrero Chico when he fell around 1,000 feet, the BBC reports. Climbing partner Aidan Jacobson says they were...

Father on Climbing Trip With Son Falls to His Death

Texas man was attempting to descend Washington state's Aasgard Pass

(Newser) - A father-son climbing trip in the Cascade Mountains turned tragic last week when Robert Jake Colburn apparently slipped and fell several hundred feet to his death. The 60-year-old from Dallas was descending Washington state's Aasgard Pass Thursday with three other people when he got ahead of the group, NBC...

Climber Builds Replica Wall Over Trump Claim

Climbers can try to scale a replica border wall in Kentucky

(Newser) - Impossible to climb? Rick Weber doesn't the think so. The climber and engineer has built a replica border wall to see if professional climbers can get over it, the Hill reports. Weber, 75, says he constructed the wall in response to President Trump's boast that even "20...

Girl, 10, Makes History on El Capitan
10-Year-Old: 1;
El Capitan: 0
Jun 18, 2019 4:03 AM CDT

10-Year-Old: 1; El Capitan: 0

Selah Schneiter becomes youngest documented person to climb El Capitan's 'Nose route'

(Newser) - A 10-year-old has conquered the massive rock wall that is El Capitan, a dangerous challenge even for rock-climbing legends. Selah Schneiter, whose climbing-guide father had her in harnesses soon after she could walk, had dreamed of scaling the 3,000-foot granite rock face in Yosemite National Park since she was...

Most Climbers Need 3 Days to Conquer This. These Guys, 2 Hours

Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell say they're never taking on record for El Capitan's 'Nose' again

(Newser) - Most climbers take three days to scale the 3,000-foot Nose route of Yosemite's El Capitan, perhaps the most intimidating big-wall climbing route on the planet, so it was nothing short of incredible when a pair did it with a time of 2:19:44 last October. Sadly for...

He Scaled El Capitan 177 Times. No. 178 Went Badly

Hans Florine broke ankle, shattered heel

(Newser) - A rock-climbing legend and record holder who has scaled Yosemite's El Capitan 177 times and wrote a book about his "lifelong obsession" with the climb survived a harrowing plunge on El Capitan's nose Thursday. Hans Florine, 53, was 2,300 feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley...

It's Deemed 'Necessary Evil.' 2 Women Just Crushed It

Michaela Kiersch and Paige Claassen join just 12 or so male rock-climbers to ascend rock face

(Newser) - In Arizona lurks Necessary Evil, an imposing rock face that has presented a "heinous" climb for the only dozen or so male athletes who have ascended it. One climber who attempted it says it's an incredibly challenging task for anyone under 5 foot 10, but this week, two...

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